Sweet N Salty Cookies
| May 20, 2013 | Posted by Lauren Keating under cookies, Desserts |
Later this month, I’ll be attending the Eat, Write, Retreat Conference in Philadelphia. I went to it two years ago when it was in DC and had a great time, so I’m looking forward to it! One of the fun things about this conference is that a lot of the sponsors send their “swag” to you ahead of time, so you have a chance to try it out before the actual event. This year, one of the sponsors is “In the Raw” and they sent us all some of their newest product: Monkfruit in the Raw. It’s the newest all-natural zero-calorie sweetener. They invited the conference attendees to make their sugar cookies and decorate them in our own style for a change to win a variety of prizes (including a KitchenAid mixer!). I’m not very patient when it comes to decorating cookies – I’ll leave that to the crafty people out there – so I took a more rustic approach to mine, topping them with a mixture of chocolate and peanut butter and crushed pretzels. The result is sweet, salty, chewy, and crunchy – they remind me of Take 5 bars (my favorite candy bar!)
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons unsalted sweet butter, softened
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 large egg plus 1 yolk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup Monk Fruit In The Raw™ Bakers Bag
- ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
- 1 ounce pretzels, crushed
- In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium-high to beat the butter until fluffy, 2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is incorporated for 3 minutes. Add the egg, yolk and vanilla, beating well between additions. Add the Monk Fruit In The Raw Bakers Bag and beat until just combined. Reduce the beater speed to low and gradually add the dry ingredients, beating until the mixture is clumpy. Stop blending and use a flexible spatula to complete mixing the dough by hand.
- Turn the dough out onto a counter covered with plastic wrap and divide it in half. The dough will be soft and sticky. Using plastic wrap to flatten dough, shape into two rectangles 4 to 5 inches wide by 6-inches long. Wrap dough and chill in refrigerator at least 3 hours or overnight.
- To roll, place one cookie rectangle on a floured non-stick surface. Working quickly
- lightly dust top of dough with flour and roll out with rolling pin to ¼-inch thickness and 12 x 9-inch rectangle. Using a large 3-1/2 inch cookie cutter, cut out 6 large cookies. Repeat with the second dough. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and place cookies on baking sheet about 2-inches apart. Let rest.
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. When oven is hot place cookies on center rack in oven. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cookies are firm when pressed in the center and evenly pale gold in color. Let the cookies rest for 1 minute on the baking sheet. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely.
- In a small saucepan, heat the chocolate chips and peanut butter until melted and smooth. Spoon ½ teaspoon of topping onto each cookie, spreading it out with the back of a spoon. Top with crushed pretzels.
I received a sample of monkfruit in the raw as well as the basic sugar cookie recipe because I’m attending the Eat, Write, Retreat conference. I’m paying for the conference myself. It costs a small fortune, but if it’s anything like it was 2 years ago, it’s totally worth it.
Apricot-Mustard Baked Ham for #SundaySupper
This week, the theme for Sunday Supper is “low and slow” and it couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. As tempted as I was to pull out my smoker and show you how to make my absolute favorite smoked jerk chicken thighs, I’ve had a giant ham taking up valuable real estate in my fridge for far too long. I was pushing up against the expiration date – it was time to cook that bad boy.
Get the Recipe!
3 Fun Ways to Use Leftover Cereal
A few weeks ago, my friends at FiberOne asked me to come up with a few “mix in” ideas for their “30 mixes in 30 hours” event.
I don’t know about you, but I almost always have at least one box of cereal that’s about to go stale so this event struck me as a brilliant idea. The three ideas that I came up with – spicy Thai party mix, Mexican hot chocolate bowls, and low-fat cannoli parfaits – are great ways to give new life to a box of cereal that you’ve gotten tired of. In fact, they might even inspire you to buy a new box just for making mixes – they’re that good!
Get the Recipe!
{Perfect Pairings} Hazelnut Mocha Granola
Remember when I posted the perfect pairing of Liberte yogurt with pistachio and white chocolate biscotti a few weeks ago? They asked me to do a second pairing, and I decided to take a more traditional approach with this hazelnut mocha granola. I know I just posted a carrot cake granola recipe like 5 seconds ago. What can I say? I’ve been on a granola kick lately! I just can’t get enough of the crunch!
This granola is very different from the one I posted a few weeks ago though. That one was healthy and full of vegetables and quinoa; this hazelnut mocha granola is pure indulgence.
Get the Recipe!
Lemon Risotto with Seared Scallops #SundaySupper
Has is really been over a year since I’ve posted a proper risotto recipe? I’ve clearly been slacking when it comes to my signature dish. (That farro “risotto” a few weeks ago was delicious, but it doesn’t count – it doesn’t even use rice!)
This week, we’re celebrating Mother’s Day at Sunday Supper. I thought about making Chicken Cordon Bleu, the first meal I really remember cooking for my mom, but I din’t really feel like eating that. So I made a summery risotto topped with seared scallops and lemon salt instead. It doesn’t have any significance – I don’t think I’ve ever even seen my mom eat risotto – but it’s a decadent dish that’s the perfect way to pamper someone.
Get the Recipe!
Lavender Dark Chocolate Tart
This time of year, it seems like there’s an occasion for a fancy party every time you turn around. Graduations. Mother’s Day. Bridal showers. Baby showers. Wednesday night. Ok, maybe not Wednesday night… although with a cup of tea and a slice of this decadent tart, it might seem like a special occasion. Of course, it’s perfect for all of those other situations too.
The crust, made from pulverized shortbread cookies, is light but intensely buttery. The dark chocolate ganache filling is rich, rich, rich and velvety smooth.
Get the Recipe!
Smokey Chipotle, Lentil, and Cauliflower Burgers
I’ve been really lazy about cooking lately. I just haven’t felt like putting together a weekly plan or going grocery shopping… and without a plan, any chance of me cooking goes right out the window. We were both getting kind of cranky about it, so a few weeks ago I promised Shawn that I would actually cook the next day. Of course, I had no inspiration. So I did what any 20-something (err… 30-something) would do – I turned to Pinterest. It’s such a great resource for keeping things organized! I had pinned these gorgeous lentil cauliflower burgers to my “to make” board at some point, and the second I saw them on there I knew what we were having for dinner.
Get the Recipe!
Comments